By Lim Chien Chong

I’m often intrigued by the exquisite works of very skilled craftsmen. Although many crafts are being created, yet each piece is hand-made individually and unique. What is even more amazing is that the materials used are often common, cheap and easily accessible. But with the master craftsman’s touch, every product becomes a masterpiece.

The Bible teaches that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). We are God’s craftwork, ordinary yet unique and special. We are not mass-produced but individually designed. Even the Lord’s redemptive work in leading us to Jesus differs from person to person.

We tend to appreciate this idea more when we meet exceptionally talented and creative individuals. We forget that even among the ordinary and common folks around us, each is special with a unique touch and stroke from our Master Himself.

Interestingly, in the same passage, Paul tells us when we are saved in Jesus Christ, every individual is part of “the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:21)

While each one is unique, all are joined by the Lord Himself to the whole community. The Christian faith emphasizes as much on our communal identity as it does on our individual personality. As such, learning and growing to walk in sync with others, despite our idiosyncrasies, is part of our Christian calling.

Sadly, we sometimes swing to either of two extremes. We can over-emphasize on individual personality and forget we are part of a bigger community whom God has saved us into. On the other hand, we can focus so much on communal conformity that we lose sight of how the Lord has made each of us different from another. In this instance, we forget that in our differences, we complement one another.

In this issue, we celebrate the uniqueness of Christian individuals as well as our like-mindedness as a community as we reach others with the gospel.